New and have a couple of questions.

Oh...

and I would be mostly interested in old coin and relic type hunting. I will not be going to any coastal beaches.

Jeff, if you and your friend get the same detector then you will almost certainly interfere with each other's signals. How close you can get is anyone's guess though. My hunting buddy and I both have MXT's and we can only get about 8 ft from each other before affecting each other. But do you really want to be that close to someone while detecting? Personally I like the display on my detector, but it could be because it doesn't have a tone range like other detectors. If I were looking at a good detector with both tones and display that's mid-range in price, I'd go with the White's M6.

Thanks for the info Okie. The only time I might be really close to a buddy detecting is for conversations or when we are just starting up and tryin to learn to use the detectors.

Thanks for the the reccomendation on the M6, its gonna be a little higher priced than what I want to start with though. I think I saw it listed at 699.00 and I'd like to stay around 300.00 to 350.00 for my first detector.

In that price range I've been looking online at:
Whites Classic 4
Multipower MPX
Predator 3
Minelab Musketeer Advantage
Garrett ACE 250 PRO
Whites Prizm III

I could possibly up that to a 400.00 price range and look at:

Minelab Xterra 30
Whites Classic 5 ID
Garrett GTAx 550
Whites Prizm IV

Any suggestions or exerience with any of these? I probably need to read some more on detector specifics so I can narrow features down I guess.

Thanks for the help!

I've honestly not ever used those so I can't help you much there. TonyinCT could probably answer your questions though. Shoot him a PM, I'm sure he'd be happy to help you or make you a deal.

My own opinion, but I don't think any kind of target display is important for old coins and relics. I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I have used were not too accurate in identifying older deeper targets. For relics you pretty much set discrimination low and dig anything with a good repeatable signal. I can't comment on the Minelab Advantage, not having used one, but I think the extra performance of a Cibola or Vaquero would be more useful than any visual display.

First of all the non metered detectors you mention outweigh the Ace250 to bigin with in power and depth. The Tesoro Cibola for example is a great detector at 320.00. If you can go up to the 400.00 range then definitely look at the Xterra 30. This is going to be a real good detector with ID for the price. ALso , different frequencies on detectors make it easier to find small targets better or larger targets deeper. Most coin hunters run under 10 Khz and an average around 5 to 7.5 Khz. This is why they are good for coins. Gold detectors , which are primarily used to find small objects like nuggets , are up over 40 Khz to 100 Khz to do that job better. All in all Nail down your price and go with something that will do an overall good job for the types of hunting you want to do.If you need more help let me know.

I agree with L.Cutler in the accuaracy of digital displays. The target ID display on my ACE250 is excellent for coinshooting in parks, schools and playgrounds were most targets are 1"-4" deep. Anything over 4" deep, and it starts to lose effectivness. When hunting in older areas where targets like coins and relics are probably going to be deeper, I tend to ignore the display, especially for targets 6" or deeper. In this situation, the belltones provide much more accurate information than the display.

Keep in mind that what I am refering to is the Target ID display. I do find that the Target Depth Indicator on the ACE250 is very accurate almost all of the time on small, coin sized targets. It can be fooled by deeper, larger targets, such as beer/soda cans at 8" deep reading as a dime or quarter at 4", but a quick easy way to decipher that is to lift the coil 6" or 8" inches above the ground. Most times, if you still get a good strong signal with the coil in the air, it is a large target, and if the signal vanishes, than the target is smaller, like a coin.

As for the choices you listed, I have not used any of them, but I would suggest sticking to the Garrett, Whites, Minelab, Fisher or Tesoro lines. They are all quality products from reputable products, and you won't go wrong with any of them. Best of luck Jeff, and by the way, welcome aboard!!

Thanks for all the great info. In one sense I like the minelab advantage and the cibrola. I think not worrying about a display and concentrating on the noise may allow me to get used to what tones are what objects faster. This is just a guess of course since I have very little detector experience.

I'll be reading as much as I can online in the next couple of weeks to get a grasp of the basics, if anyone has had positive/negative experience with any of these detectors I listed please elaborate.

Thanks again for all the great info!

The MXT's target display is pretty accurate on most coins in my experience from 7" to 8". Some times nickels get weird after 5" and read a little lower than normal. I'm pretty happy with the target ID. It's like any other machine, you have to use it to learn it.

I'd go along with all the other comments, you should never place to much reliance on what the target ID tells you. Go by the sound first, then use the ID to get a rough idea of what's there.

I'm sure that in the past, I've left some good finds in the ground, because I haven't gone by my instincts.

I am new to the forum but have been detecting since 1991. I currently own the x-terra 50. Going through the learning phase. Tesoro makes several good detectors in the price range you are looking at. But as others said there are many good models out there. I normally base most of my decision to dig a target by the tone not the meter. But I like the meter for reference. I have owned several brands and models through the years Whites, Tesoro, Fisher, Minelab. My personal preference is Minelab.
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